Paris Olympics organisers insists lessons learned from Champions League final

A “lot of lessons” have been learned from the organisation that marred the 2022 Champions League final in Paris, the Olympic Games executive director has told The Athletic.

With fewer than 100 days until the 2024 Paris Olympics start, Christophe Dubi was adamant spectators would not encounter the same problems that overshadowed UEFA’s showpiece event between Liverpool and Real Madrid.

At that match, there were chaotic scenes as fans tried to enter the Stade de France, with a failed ticketing system and security operation resulting in dangerous crushes around the ground. Many fans were tear-gassed by police officers and kick off was delayed by 30 minutes. Meanwhile, hundreds of supporters were subjected to random attacks by local gangs after the final whistle.

An independent review commission by UEFA and which published its findings in February 2023, compared the scenes in Paris to those at Hillsborough for the 1989 FA Cup semi-final, when 97 Liverpool fans were killed in crushes. The review added that it was “remarkable that no one lost their life” in Paris.

Explaining the problems then, Dubi said Paris had inadequate time to prepare properly as the venue for the final was switched from St Petersburg at short notice, there was a number of construction works around the city’s transit system and a lack of integration between various security forces.

To prevent a repeat, he explained security forces would now be more aligned and how the operation plan around the Stade de France had to be redesigned to avoid a bottleneck build up of crowds on some streets and tunnels.

“So what you will see in Paris this summer is a totally different flow of activities between the various population groups to avoid exactly what happened during that night,” Dubi insisted.

Elsewhere Dubi said they were “very determined” for the opening ceremony to take place along the River Seine — amid mixed messaging over potential contingency plans.

This came after Paris city officials this month insisted the event will not be taken off the water and there was no Plan B. However on Monday Emmanuel Macron then claimed there was a Plan B, and indeed a Plan C, if security risks made the river procession too risky.

The French president said: “We have a ceremony that would be limited to the Trocadero so it would not cover the entire Seine. Or we could return to the Stade de France.”

Yet when asked about that, Dubi said the IOC had not discussed alternative venues with the organising committee.

“At this stage, our conversations are around the River Seine and any adaptations along the River Seine. (There are) no specifics on what Plan B or Plan C are,” he said.

He added: “We’re offering something that anyone around the globe will be in awe of because there is no way you escape the news coming out of Paris on Friday July 26. So this is something that that we offering to the world, which is absolutely outstanding.”

On the subject of the Seine, Dubi was also adamant the river would be clean enough for open-water swimming and triathlon events to take place in. Swimming in the Seine has been banned since 1923, but organisers hope they will be able to open three bathing areas in the river before 2025. To help offset severe waste run-off during heavy rain, a new multi-million dollar storage basin is being built near the river.

Amid criticism from figures including Seb Coe, president of World Athletics, on ticket prices, Dubi defended the costs.

Lord Coe warned the high prices could result in empty seats at the Stade de France, with prices of €990 (about £850) for the Category First seats and €690, €385, €195 or €85 for Category A-D tickets.

In response to that, Dubi said: “When we fly from Geneva to New York, you have a large portion of us paying, say, 500 bucks. And the reason why it is so is because many in front of the plane are paying 5000 or up to 10,000 francs. And this is the same when you consider the Games and the athletics. You have a very large portion of the tickets for the Games which are very affordable – one million tickets at €24, 50 per cent of the tickets under €50. So we speaking about five million tickets and others which will be above €50.

“The average price for a concert probably in France is around €80 to €100 Euro, right? So for that night in the athletics stadium, if you have a ticket that is €24 or €50, you have the experience of a lifetime. Now, some will pay, it’s true. And that’s the way it works. Some will pay close to €1,000 and some even more when introducing hospitality. But again, this is how we can guarantee that the Games remain for the masses.”

Dubi added how tickets prices were comparable with London when inflation was taken into account, a number of tickets were being distributed by the public authorities while there would also be some “very dynamic and last minute” releases.